The Chimney

MAYBE THE CHIMNEY WAS TRYING TO TELL US SOMETHING

Yesterday, just as the very first groundwork was being undertaken for the temporary school on the oval, the chimney of the original school up on top of the hill crumbled and gently collapsed into the remaining rubble of the school buildings. The demolition workers had gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that it was protected while the twisted remains of the modern school were being cleared away to make way for what will be. But that determination to respect our past was not enough and the vibrations of heavy equipment just a little too much. So the men carefully gathered up the remaining whole bricks, washed them and placed them aside to enable us to use them in a different form once the new school is built. Maybe we could consider building a community asset, such as a village bread oven, to ensure that the chimney lives on with purpose.

It was at once a very sad but then quite liberating sight to see. The chimney had revealed itself to us when we needed it as a reminder of the past and the resilience of our community but maybe it is now saying that it will not stand in our way – the future is ours- and has offered us an opportunity to build on that site whatever and however we wish. The whole community will be part of that process.

– from Elizabeth Knox, School Association Chairperson

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose”. Lyndon Johnson